


Paid in full

by mysaldate



Category: Twisted-Wonderland (Video Game)
Genre: After Ruggie's school uniform story, Canon Compliant, Cooking, Hand Kisses, I just really wanted to see them hang out okay, M/M, Missing Scene, Ruggie cuts his finger when chopping veggies, TWST Rarepair Week, minor injury, prompt: cooking, rarepair week
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-08
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-14 05:53:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29912385
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mysaldate/pseuds/mysaldate
Summary: Ruggie would certainly rather cook with Jade than risk there will be some horrible revenge for accidentally taking the merman's herbs. But not everything goes as planned and the feelings he didn't know he had start surfacing at the worst possible moment.
Relationships: Jade Leech/Ruggie Bucchi
Comments: 6
Kudos: 23
Collections: TWST Rarepair Week





	Paid in full

**Author's Note:**

> Kicking off the TWST Rarepair week with this and while it's not exactly what I was going for, I'm just glad I finished it! That card story was really sweet and I always love watching other characters interact with the Octatrio so this was bound to happen sooner or later.
> 
> Prompt: Cooking

There was just something intimidating about Mostro’s kitchen. It wasn’t just the sheer size of it but that certainly didn’t help. As Ruggie stepped in, he always felt as though he’d left Twisted Wonderland altogether and entered a whole other world. To his credit, the Twisted Wonderland he knew was very different from the one the Octavinelle trio knew. Theirs was of luxury and money while his was of struggle and poverty. He couldn’t even begin to comprehend how someone saw this empty place and immediately thought of setting up a restaurant.

The door closing behind him snapped him out of the bitter thoughts and he turned around to find Jade with his arms full of herbs. Clearly, this much was unnecessary, except if he planned to feed the entire school that is. But Ruggie wasn’t here to lecture him about wastefulness. At least, he thought, if there’s too much leftovers, he might be able to take some with him and treat himself to a good lunch tomorrow. A dinner too if he was lucky and if the merman was feeling generous.

“What should we start with?” Jade’s tone was casual. He seemed happy enough to get what he wanted and for once there was no mocking edge to his voice. That made the hyena relax a little. Maybe this wouldn’t be as horrible as he thought at first. It certainly beat risking some terrifying revenge brought upon him because he touched Jade’s herbs.

“Right- Let me see what you’ve got.” He shuffled around the taller boy to get to the fridge. Even something as simple as that looked intimidating in here. Suppressing a sigh, Ruggie opened the door, quickly skimming over whatever they could use. It was more food than he ever saw in one place except for the times when the cafeteria and the school shop gave him everything they had before the holidays. And from the time he worked here, he knew this was just the leftovers.

Without much thinking, he reached in to grab some meat offcuts and what remained of vegetables, not thinking much of it until the eel stopped him, grabbing his wrist gently. Ruggie flinched at the unexpected contact, his ears flattening against his head for a moment but the curious look it drew on Jade’s face was enough for him to force an annoyed expression instead. It wouldn’t do him good to show weakness in front of the Octavinelle vice leader of all people.

“Ruggie, those are leftovers.” Jade informed him casually, though an amused smirk played along his lips.

“Yeah, so we should use them up, shouldn’t we?” The hyena barked back, freeing his wrist from the surprisingly relaxed hold. “You’re not gonna tell me you planned on throwing all of this away, are you?”

“Well, now I’m certainly not.” The chuckle that slipped from his lips was almost insulting. But Ruggie only rolled his eyes in silence as he got to preparing the rest. In order to best utilize the herbs they had, he decided to start with a home-made broth. It was a good meal to use up everything that remained of their food as pretty much anything could go in it. And it was filling too. With what they had left of the herbs, they might be able to make a steak – if Jade allowed him to use some proper meat – and maybe even a dessert.

Jade’s silence as he watched him fumble with the pots was unnerving. He could feel the merman’s heterochromatic eyes on him, observing his every move with precision, yet staying completely quiet. Internally cursing the eel for that, Ruggie tried his best to focus on the task at hand. First, he would need to clean the meat and fry it a little before pouring water on it and letting it boil over for a while. In the meantime, he would cut up the veggies and then add them in. The salt and herbs would come in last to better settle the flavor.

It went fairly well – the meat was now resting in the bubbling water, slowly tendering and softening, and the veggies weren’t going along badly either. The only off-putting thing was that Jade’s eyes were yet to leave him.

“Can’t you at least say something if you’re not going to help me?” Ruggie groaned eventually, lifting his eyes from the carrots. Jade didn’t even bother to hide his amusement. The jerk must’ve been doing it on purpose to see how long the hyena would put up with it. How in-character for him.

Feigning innocence with a few rapid blinks, Jade let out an exaggerated gasp. “Oh dear, I simply didn’t want to disturb you in your work.”

Of course though, Ruggie was far from falling for such a cheap act. Even though the merman was a good actor, the fact that he took a moment to chuckle at him first was more than enough proof anyone needed that he was lying through his teeth. He would’ve loved to bite back but he didn’t want to risk angering the Octavinelle vice leader. His life may not be ideal but he didn’t have a death wish yet.

He probably should’ve paid less attention to the eel’s teasing and more to his fingers though. The next time he brought the knife down, a surprised yelp tore through the tense silence in the kitchen and Ruggie’s poor bleeding finger jolted up to his lips. At least he wasn’t cutting anything juicy so aside from the cut itself there was nothing else to hurt. He whined a little to himself before taking a good look at his injury. It ran pretty deep. He must’ve put more force into the cut than he’d realized.

“Ruggie, over here!” Jade’s voice rang through to him and as he looked up, he noticed the merman was no longer diligently standing beside him but rather had quickly moved to the door outside, holding a first-aid kit in his hands. Without questioning how he managed to get it so fast, Ruggie bolted towards him. It wasn’t like the wound was too deep but it was better to take care of it sooner than later.

He followed the merman back to Mostro, taking the offered seat at the bar, and held his hand out over the table. Jade’s face scrunched a little in a frown. That was unusual. It must’ve been the first time Ruggie had seen him like that. The wrinkles that formed between his eyebrows didn’t really suit him but the worried expression wasn’t half bad. Without much thinking, the Savanaclaw student reached out with his uninjured hand, pressing his index finger to the eel’s forehead.

Jade’s eyes fluttered up from the wound, widened and surprised, and Ruggie found himself increasingly more fascinated with these honest expressions. It wasn’t every day that anyone got to see them after all. In a way, it made him feel special. They stayed locked staring at each other for a good while before the scent of blood suddenly grew more potent as it dripped down to the bar counter. It broke the tension enough to make them both realize they’ve been gawking for some time. Ruggie cursed under his breath as heat raised to his cheeks while Jade merely turned to the kit to grab a disinfectant and some bandages. His face was slightly flushed too but Ruggie couldn’t be sure whether it was because the situation was just awkward or for some other reason.

“Hold still, it might pinch a little.” Jade warned him before spraying the disinfectant on his finger. A little he said… But it was okay, Ruggie could handle a bit of pain like this. It must’ve shown on his face though as Jade suddenly held his hand up, a coy smirk playing along his lips. “Oh my, was that too much for you~?”

He frowned, shaking his head in exasperation. Some students could be even more bothersome than Leona, and Jade was certainly one of them. “It was  _ not _ . You can go on.”

“But I would feel so bad if I made you hurt even more.” The fake pity in his voice was grating on Ruggie’s nerves.

“You’re not very slick for an eel.” He felt an odd bounce of courage for once, letting some frustration bubble up to the surface. Now that he got hurt because of Jade – and the merman even acknowledged it – the chances of him having to pay for the used-up herbs with his blood were falling at a dramatic pace, making him feel much safer.

“You lack a proper bite for a hyena.”

That knocked all the air out of Ruggie’s lungs. Much like everything else he did, even Jade’s mockery felt like he was above the situation and merely entertaining it for some invisible audience’s sake. Though in this case, the hyena himself was probably that audience. He growled a little, pulling his hand back, only to find it fully bandaged. Just how did Jade keep doing these things?!

“You look surprised. Did you expect me to kiss it better first?” That smug smirk of his was almost begging to be wiped off his face. And so, Ruggie said the only thing that came to mind fast enough to still be considered a comeback.

“And if I did?”

The grin froze on Jade’s lips, his eyes slowly drinking in more and more of his confusion, even though his lips remained curved gently up all the same. This was good enough though. Ruggie couldn’t have asked for more. He moved to get out of the chair when suddenly, the grip on his wrist tightened and he was yanked right back to the counter. If it weren’t for a quick hand coming to catch him, he would’ve likely hit his ribs on it from the sheer force behind the pull.

“What was that for?” He complained slightly, pouting up at the eel. But Jade paid him little mind, bringing his hand up to his lips.

“I just thought I’d fulfill your wish.” That was all the warning the hyena got before Jade’s lips were tenderly brushing against his bandaged finger, gentle and careful not to catch on the bandage or put too much pressure on the cut. The merman placed a small kiss on top of his finger before traveling down the full length of the cut, then cupping his hand and gifting one final peck to the back of it. He then looked up, heterochromatic eyes full of something way too soft to be normal for the eel. “I hope this makes up for my initial neglect?”

Ruggie wasn’t sure he was really sane. Did he actually hit his head or something? He felt blood rushing to his head faster than he could comprehend. Just what was that damn merman doing?! Stumbling back, Ruggie’s chair swung and fell, jerking his hand out of Jade’s hold. He fell on his ass but before the Octavinelle vice could rush over to him and do anything weirder, the hyena was on his feet and scrambling away as fast as he could. Leaving the stunned eel behind, he didn’t stop until he was in the safety of his room in Savanaclaw.

This made no sense. Why would Jade do anything like that? Why would he look at him in that way and why did it seem like he didn’t mind any of it? And… why was his heart beating so fast and loud whenever he remembered it? He hid under the blanket, grasping at his chest to try and reason with his feelings.

He didn’t remember having a crush on Jade. To be fair, he didn’t remember having a crush on anyone at all, but Jade wasn’t even a candidate for such a thing. Sure, he respected him for what he put up with from Azul, and he did think the merman had style and skill and was pretty cool when he was mixing drinks or throwing out rowdy guests from Mostro, and those honest emotions he showed today were pretty cute, and the way he treated all his plants and mushrooms with so much care…

Fuck, maybe he did have a crush.

And now he felt even more embarrassed about what happened. Jade surely wasn’t stupid enough to not realize why he ran off. Maybe he even made a show out of kissing his hand better on purpose. Was he just teasing him the whole time? Though he did have to admit his finger was hurting way less. He could still feel the warmth of the merman’s breath on it too. Well, he most certainly wasn’t about to go back anyway. It was getting late and he didn’t feel like dealing with whatever aftermath there would be. Curling up under the blanket, he let sleep take him and tried to forget the strange evening.

He woke up to a commotion outside his room. Though drowsy, he went to check out what had caused the ruckus. In front of his room was a small crowd of students, gathered around something on the floor, but when the door opened, most of them fled the scene. The rest mostly gave their good mornings, acting as if they were only here by pure coincidence. Slightly suspicious, Ruggie made his way through the crowd, only to find a basket that he assumed was originally standing by his door given the name tag on top of it. Snatching it away, he brought it back in before investigating its contents.

Aside from the tag, there was also a sealed bowl of soup – presumably broth – and a letter. Though the handwriting on the tag already told Ruggie enough about the sender. He hesitated for a few moments before deciding he had nothing to lose anymore and opening the letter. It was short. Short and straight to the point. Just as he would expect from someone like Jade.

_ Dear Ruggie, _

_ My sincerest apologies for scaring you off last night. Please accept this broth as a token of my gratitude for your help. Though of course, without a teacher to guide me, I couldn’t be sure of what I was doing. If there’s any problem with it, please stop by and teach me again. Mostro closes at seven tonight. _

_ P.S. Be careful when eating, I cast a spell on it so it would stay hot for a good couple of hours. I doubt a bandage would work if you burnt your lips. _

There was no signature. There didn’t need to be. All that mattered was written clearly enough. And Ruggie found his eyes wandering to the soup. Perhaps he could just be honest with Jade since the merman didn’t seem to mind. But maybe burning his lips for once would not be so bad.


End file.
